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Parliament backs new EU nature law in blow to conservatives

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

Lawmakers in the European Parliament’s plenary today voted in favor of contentious new rules aimed at restoring the bloc’s degraded ecosystems, dealing a major blow to conservative MEPs who had pushed to kill the legislation.The conservative European People’s Party was unable to garner a majority to vote against the bill, with a coalition of MEPs from the Socialists & Democrats, The Left, the Greens and Renew Europe rallying in support of the proposal. The vote was extremely tight, with 336 voting in favor, 300 against and 13 abstentions.MEPs earlier also rejected the EPP’s call to reject the Nature Restoration Regulation outright and send the European Commission back to the drawing board, with 324 votes against, 312 in favor and 12 abstentions.The outcome marks a major defeat for the EPP, which campaigned hard against the legislation with the backing of the European Conservatives and Reformists, the far-right Identity and Democracy, and some members of the lib...

Luxembourg PM used Depeche Mode’s jet to fly into NATO summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

Luxembourg’s NATO summit delegation jetted into Vilnius on the plane recently used by Depeche Mode on their world tour — and covered in the band’s logos. When Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and Defense Minister François Bausch arrived Tuesday in Vilnius, reporters were surprised to see a “big red skull on the plane used by peaceful little Luxembourg,” wrote AP journalist Philip Crowther on Twitter. Turns out, Luxembourg’s top politicians were deplaning from a jet used by the English electronic rockers, with the large red skull accompanied by the letters DM (for the band) and MM (referring to Depeche Mode’s new album). How did this happen? Luxembourg’s army tried to book a flight through the European Air Transport Command, but it just can’t get enough private jets for major international events, so Luxembourg had to charter another available plane in which they could enjoy the silence before the summit, re...

The Orioles sent a large contingent to the All-Star Game. When might it come to them?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

Eliminated in the second matchup of Monday night’s Home Run Derby, Adley Rutschman stuck around to watch the other competitors. Like everyone else in T-Mobile Park, he couldn’t look away during Julio Rodríguez’s opening round.The Seattle Mariners’ young outfielder — the only player to top Rutschman in last season’s voting for American League Rookie of the Year — swatted 41 home runs as a sold-out crowd in his home ballpark almost constantly chanted “Ju-li-o! Ju-li-o!”“Dude, that was electric,” Rutschman said the next day. “To me, that was so cool. Seeing everyone just get so hype, 41 home runs, that was a highlight.”With Rutschman enjoying the experience enough to say he would be open to competing in the derby again someday, it’s fair to wonder when home fans watching the event might get to chant “Ad-ley! Ad-ley!”The Orioles haven’t hosted an All-Star Game since 1993, Camden Ya...

Webb Space Telescope reveals moment of stellar birth, dramatic close-up of 50 baby stars

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope is marking one year of cosmic photographs with one of its best yet: the dramatic close-up of dozens of stars at the moment of birth.NASA unveiled the latest snapshot Wednesday, revealing 50 baby stars in a cloud complex 390 light-years away. The region is relatively quiet yet full of illuminated gases, jets of hydrogen and even dense cocoons of dust with the delicate beginnings of even more stars.“Prepare to be awestruck!” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson tweeted, noting that the image “presents star birth as an impressionistic masterpiece.”“One year in & the adventure has only just begun!” added NASA’s second in command, Pamela Melroy.All of the young stars appear to be no bigger than our sun. Scientists said the breathtaking shot provides the best clarity yet of this brief phase of a star’s life.“Our own sun experienced a phase like this, long ago, and now we have the technology to see the beginning of another’s star’s s...

NATO deepens ties with Ukraine but doesn’t set clear path for membership

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders gathered Wednesday to launch a highly symbolic new forum for ties with Ukraine, after committing to provide the country with more military assistance for fighting Russia but only vague assurances of future membership.U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the new NATO-Ukraine Council, a permanent body where the 31 allies and Ukraine can hold consultations and call for meetings in emergency situations.The setting is part of NATO’s effort to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the military alliance without actually joining it. On Tuesday, the leaders said in their communique summarizing the summit’s conclusions that Ukraine can join “when allies agree and conditions are met.”“Today we meet as equals,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy. “I look forward to the day we meet as allies.”The ambigu...

Live Updates | NATO, Ukraine hold new high-level talks under new council aimed to tighten ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — NATO backs Ukraine’s fight vs. Russia but doesn’t invite Kyiv to join— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?——NATO and Ukraine are holding their first ever high-level talks in a new format.The 31-nation alliance is not letting Ukraine join while the war with Russia is going on, but has launched a NATO-Ukraine Council as part of its political commitment to the country.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says it’s “a forum where Ukraine and NATO allies will meet as equals, hold crisis consultations and jointly take decisions. Ukraine is now closer to NATO than ever before.”Hungary has blocked high-level talks with Ukraine in the past due to concerns over the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority living in Ukraine. But Stoltenberg said he and Ukrainian Pres...

China-based hackers have breached government and individual email accounts, Microsoft says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China called a Microsoft report that a China-based hacking group breached government-linked email accounts “disinformation,” saying Wednesday that the accusation was meant to divert attention from U.S. cyber activities.In a blog post published Tuesday, Microsoft said the group, which it identified as Storm-0558, gained access to email accounts linked to 25 organizations, including Western European government agencies. The breach was detected weeks later when customers complained to Microsoft about abnormal mail activity.“We assess this adversary is focused on espionage, such as gaining access to email systems for intelligence collection,” Charlie Bell, Microsoft’s executive vice president of security, said in a separate Microsoft post.A Washington Post report cited a statement from U.S. officials claiming Storm-0558 also breached unclassified email accounts linked to the U.S. government. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said the accusation wa...

German opposition leader replaces a top aide as he tries to improve standing in polls

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s opposition leader is replacing one of his party’s top officials with an ally as he tries to improve its standing in polls and capitalize on discontent with the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.Friedrich Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, announced on Tuesday that he was replacing Mario Czaja as the party’s general secretary — the official responsible for day-to-day political strategy. On Wednesday, the party leadership approved Merz’s proposal of Carsten Linnemann as his replacement.Linnemann is a pro-business conservative whose politics are considered in line with the party leader’s and who comes from the same western region. Czaja, who represents an eastern Berlin district in parliament, has a more liberal profile and his appointment was viewed as an attempt to reflect the breadth of the party. The change is likely to signal tougher rhetoric against the government.“We are seeing noticeable pola...

Kosovo to partially withdraw special police officers from northern Serb-majority municipalities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s government on Wednesday will reduce the number of special police officers stationed outside four municipal buildings in ethnic Serb-majority areas and hold new mayoral elections in each of the towns, in a bid to defuse tensions with neighboring Serbia that flared anew in May.Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that one-fourth of the special police forces would be moved away from the sites “taking into consideration that the situation at the municipal buildings has been comparatively much quieter in the last two weeks.” He added that more officers would be withdrawn based on the continuous evaluation of the situation.It wasn’t immediately clear when the reductions would take place, and where the officers would be reassigned to.Serbia’s government and Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs want special police forces to leave the northern area, while Pristina says the number will be gradually reduced.Kurti said the government would make a formal statemen...

Spain sweats out sultry nights as heat wave bakes southern Europe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:19:36 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain sweltered under an unrelenting heat wave Wednesday as temperatures started to build toward what is forecast to be a torrid weekend across southern Europe.Spain’s weather service said thermometers could potentially hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in southeastern areas of the Iberian Peninsula, which are under alert for extreme heat. That mark of 45 C was reached Monday in the village of Loja near Granada at the start of the heat wave that is causing restless nights across the country.Over 100 weather stations registered temperatures of at least 35 C (95 F) as early as 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to meteorologist Rubén del Campo of Spain’s national weather agency.“On Wednesday we expect temperatures to fall overall with the arrival of cool winds from the North and East, with the exception of the southeast and southern Andalusia, where hot winds blowing from the interior will cause temperatures to soar,” Del Campo said.While some relief is in store...